Do you feel safer?
man slept in the back seat. Jack stopped in Trenton, and said, “This is where I get out.” He walked up Sand Mountain in the dark, making the ten mile trek to his parents’ home, while the man continued his journey to Knoxville.
In this era of cell phones and privileged children, that story would not take place today. For one thing, who still picks up hitchhikers? It’s hard to imagine a world in which a man voluntarily hands over his car keys to a total stranger, a young one at that, and say, “Here, you drive.” That was an isolated occurrence, but Jack told me he depended on the kindness of strangers, and always managed to make it to Montgome ry and back.
Hearing Jack’s story made me wonder: What has happened to us? Even the most generous among us were warned by our parents about the danger of picking up a stranger, or even making eye contact with one. Today’s young people would be shocked by the story I just old. They also will likely never live in a world where schoolhouse doors are unlocked, where you can enter a sporting event without someone snooping through your purse, or where you can board an airplane without being frisked.
Recently I wrote about the fictional “Mayberry” where Sheriff Andy and Deputy Barney lived their lives as many of us once did. We left our doors unlocked, we left our cars running on cold mornings when we grabbed a gallon of milk in the store, and schools left their doors wide open to catch some fresh air. It was our way of life, and no one lived in fear. I doubt that any of our jails today have an “Otis” who can let himself in when he’s had too much to drink, and then let himself out when he has sobered up.
We all know why this is happening, of course. In the past few decades, schools have been vandalized and terrorized. Churches, which sit empty for days at a time, are popular targets too. Airplanes, once so easy for skyjackers to overtake, began tightening security in the 1970s. The September 11, 2001 attacks proved that airport security had to be tightened even more.
The Atlanta Braves announced that when their new stadium opens later this week, an updated food policy will be enforced. Any “outside” food must be in a clear, gallonsized ZipLoc bag, with a limit of one sealed water bottle. Why? Some might suspect their desire to sell more premium-priced ballpark food. However their official answer is, security. There is always a fear of someone sneaking in a weapon in a hidden, zipped-up soft cooler compartment.
Recently, many of us were upset by video of a 13-year-old boy, wearing only a thin t-shirt and shorts, being subjected to an uncomfortable two-minute body search, best described as groping, at a Texas airport. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) first responded to his mother’s complaints by claiming the search was justified because the boy had a laptop computer in his backpack. However, any reasonable observer would say the TSA agent strayed over the line of common sense. Sheriff Andy would have given him a stern talking-to.
How did we get to this point? We have always had crime, and people have long been tempted to do bad things. So, what happened in the past half-century to trigger an increase in violent, terroristic actions? Depending on who you believe, it’s either a breakdown in the home, negative influences in the media, increased accessibility to drugs, or a combination of many factors.
It is a different world. We have been traumatized by violent events. We have studied, answered, and responded to those tragedies. We have changed our policies, and taken drastic action. I can’t help but wonder, though. Even with our locked doors and heightened awareness, do you really feel any safer?
David Carroll, a Chattanooga news anchor, is the author of the new book “Volunteer Bama Dawg,” a collection of his best stories, available at ChattanoogaRadioTV. com, or by sending $23 to David Carroll Book, PO Box 15185, Chattanooga, TN 37415. You may contact David at 3dc@epbfi.com.